EDITOR'S TAKE: Amazon's Alexa+ hasn't attracted much attention in the year since its unveiling, overshadowed by rival AI assistants from OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google. The company appears to be positioning its new podcast-creation feature as a killer app to help differentiate it from the competition.
Prime subscribers in the US can now ask Alexa to create audio podcasts on virtually any topic. To provide the AI with reliable sources, Amazon has partnered with The Washington Post (owned by CEO Jeff Bezos), Reuters, the Associated Press, TIME, Forbes, Business Insider, Politico, USA Today, Vox, and more than 200 local outlets across the US.
After users specify a topic, Alexa generates a preliminary overview for review. Users can then set the preferred length and conversational style, and the assistant produces a podcast episode with two AI-generated host voices within minutes.
Available topics include the latest news, the outcomes of recent sporting events, popular music, chatter about recent movies, history, tourism, various hobbies, and professional advice.
Three brief samples provide a glimpse of how the hosts discuss sports, the music industry, and ancient Roman history. It remains to be seen how they might compare to human-made podcasts on those topics.
